Food and drink products and other perishable items are often packaged in tubular containers, which are sealed at both ends. These tubular containers typically include at least one structural body ply and are formed by wrapping a continuous strip of body ply material around a mandrel of a desired shape to create a tubular structure. The body ply strip may be spirally wound around the mandrel or passed through a series of forming elements so as to be wrapped in a convolute shape around the mandrel. At the downstream end of the mandrel, the tube is cut into discrete lengths and is then fitted with end closures to form the container.
Tubular containers of this type typically include a liner ply on the inner surface of the paperboard body ply. The liner ply prevents liquids, such as juice, from leaking out of the container and also prevents liquids from entering the container and possibly contaminating the food product contained therein. Preferably, the liner ply is also resistant to the passage of gasses, such as oxygen and nitrogen, so as to prevent odors of the food product in the container from escaping and to prevent atmospheric air from entering the container and spoiling the food product. Thus, the liner ply provides barrier properties and the body ply provides structural properties.
In addition, current commercial containers often have membrane-type lids or end closures heat sealed to a curled or bead-shaped rim of the composite container wall to form a peelable seal. The rim is formed by turning outwardly the end of the container to position the inner layer of the liner material on the outwardly curved surface.
A major difficulty in developing a usable heat seal between the container lid and the rim of the container wall is balancing bond strength with ease of opening for the end user. During transport, the sealed containers experience temperature and pressure extremes that stress the heat seal and can lead to rupturing of the container. The bond strength must be sufficient to withstand the rigors of transportation. In particular, when containers packaged and sealed at one elevation are then subjected to lower ambient air pressure, such as during air transportation or when transported to consumers at higher elevations, a relative positive pressure is created within the container which could cause the seal between the lid and the container to rupture. Further, environmental temperature changes could adversely affect the container seal and cause a seal rupture. This ability of the container to avoid rupturing under such conditions is known as burst strength. However, as the burst strength increases, there is generally a concomitant increase in difficulty of opening of the container, which is exhibited by the peel strength or peel resistance of the container. The higher burst strength indiscriminately prevents both rupturing during transport and opening by the end user.
It would be advantageous to provide a sealed container and method for sealing a container that combine improved ease of opening and an attractive appearance after opening with the seal strength and barrier properties required for protection of the products within the container.